by Michael Evans, May 17, 2024
Meet Jenny Doan. At 66 years old her YouTube channel has nearly 1 million subscribers and her quilting company makes tens of millions of dollars per year.
As authors… we can learn a lot from her. After all, with Missouri Star Quilting she’s built a family business that has now turned their town of Hamilton into the “Disneyland” of Quilting.
Takeaway: When you share with the world your passion for stories and immerse your readers further into that passion — anything is possible.
In short… go DEEP with an audience you care about rather than trying to create for the masses.
Mindset Shift: Your Subscription Is Your Reader Theme Park. Let me show you why…
For many authors, their subscription is a gateway to deeper immersion into their story worlds.
This can take place through:
- Bonus content (deleted scenes, character art, and more!)
- Community events (live chats with author, polls where readers can have control in stories, status/identity tied to your worlds, and holidays for your readers)
- Merchandise, signed books, and other physical goods that bring your fictional stories to life
And there are MANY more ways to immerse your readers into your stories with your subscription.
These experiences are like “rides” in a digital amusement park. Instead of the Magic Kingdom… there’s your Story Kingdom. Your Fandom. And your community that gives your readers joy and meaning in their lives.
It’s beautiful. And the best part is… that any of you can be Jenny Doan.
Instead of the “Disneyland for Quilting” maybe it’s an indie bookstore, ice cream shop, or resort for a wellness and reading retreat.
Think this sounds like a silly fad? Would people REALLY want this?
I just spent my Friday night (I know what wild social life), studying Airbnb’s latest product announcement.
Their Summer 2024 release. Icons. Iconic experiences with franchises and celebrities people connect with. There’s a recreation of the Uphouse… now on Airbnb.
If a $100 billion company finds value in investing in Iconic experiences and making it their huge release for the summer of 2024… I think that we have room as authors to dream big and create iconic experiences of our own for readers.
Or as I like to call it… Magic Moments.
There are 3 key ingredients to a Magic Moment.
#1: Connect to what your readers care about. This means the immersive experience must connect back to your stories, or something readers of stories similar to yours will care about. Maybe this is a particular character in your book — maybe it’s a werewolf, monster, or unicorn shifter 
.
#2: Make it shareable. Yes… this is so important! Make it so that folks can share it with their friends. Either the story of the experience itself, or the actual content (art prints can be hung up on walls and handed to friends…). We experience moments to share them with others. This is why things like fortune cookies are so popular… we want to share our fortunes with friends… personality quizzes etc. Bonus points if the “shared” experience you create can result in a shared language between your fans. That is real magic!
#3: Go the extra mile. People see when you put care into something and we all want to be cared for! Going the extra mile matters, even if it’s in a small way. This might mean personalizing the experience or just making it easy for readers to experience the bonus content you have created.
And a BONUS… if it’s a surprise. Don’t underestimate the power of a magic moment someone wasn’t expecting but you intentionally create for them.
And maybe… just maybe… one day… instead of a magic moment… you will have a kingdom full of magic. Or a town… in the case of Hamilton, Missouri.